Cabinet structure



Oct. 8, 1968 H. 5. FALL ETAL CABINET STRUCTURE 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 20, 1967 ll nl W I ll Fig.1

INVENTORS BERT S. F

HER ALL LAWRENC M. VAU G H N HUBERT I. SHORT ATTORNEYS I Oct. 8, 1968 F LL ETAL 3,404,931

' CABINET STRUCTURE 4 Sheets-Sheet. 2

Filed March 20, 1967 Flg- 3 INVENTORS HERBERT S. FALL LAWRENCE M. VAUGHN HUBERT I. SHORT ATTORNEYS Oct. 8, 1968 H. 5. FALL ETAL 3,404,931

CABINET STRUCTURE Filed March 20, 1967 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 VIIJ'I'IIIIII,

INVENTORS HERBERT 8. FALL 3 LAWRENCE M.VAUGHN l 77 HUBERT'LSHORT ATTORNEYS och 1968 H. 5. FALL E TAL 3,404,931

CABINET STRUCTURE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed March 20, 1967 uuuuuuuuuu In INVENTORS I HERBERT 8. FALL LAWRENCE M.

VAUGHN SHORT HUBERT I. NW1, Gud' ,um

ATTORNEYS United States Patent "ice 3,404,931 CABINET STRUCTURE Herbert S. 'Fall, 6248 E. Iona St., Indianapolis, Ind. 46203, and Lawrence M. Vaughn, Acton, and Hubert I. Short, Indianapolis, Ind.; sad Vaughn and said Short assignors to said Fall Filed Mar. 20, 1967, Ser. No. 624,509 Claims. (Cl. 312-257) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A cabinet structure comprising a pair of identical, horizontally disposed, generally rectangular rigid frames with open corners, one framebeing congruently superposed The present invention relates generally to'cabinet structures, and more particularly to a cabinet structure which is characterizedby its high strength, rigidity, versatility and ease with which it may be assembled.

The cabinet structure of the present invention is ideally suited to almost any type of commercial use and is specifically suited for use in packaging large quantities of electrical and electronic equipment. The cabinetstructure ofv the present invention may be used as a module, several of which may be bolted together to form bays in unlimited combinations. As a further versatility feature, removable side and rear wall panels are provided, the panels being disengageably connected to the top of the cabinet structure to hang downwardly therefrom.

The cabinet structure comprises a pair of identical frames and four identical corner posts, the frames and corner posts being assembled to provide a frame structure on which the removable wall panels are mounted. In a preferred form of the present invention, a vertical track element is carried by each corner post, each track element being effective to stiffen the corner post on which it is carried. The corner posts are easily bolted to the frames to provide a rigid structure. It will be seen in the following description that none of the bolts which clamp a corner post to a frame is subjected to shear forces when the cabinet structure is tended to be racked.

It is a primary object of the present invention, therefore, to provide a cabinet structure comprising a pair of horizontally disposed polygonal frames, one frame being congruently disposed above the other and spaced a vertical distance therefrom, a corner post connected between each of the vertically aligned pairs of corners of the frames rigidly to support the upper frame above the lower frame, thereby to provide a frame structure on which removable wall panels are mounted. Preferably, each of such wall panels is adapted to be disengageablyand piv-,

otally connected to and supported from one side of the upper frame to hang 'vertically'downwardly therefrom. Also, preferably, a latch mechanism'is providedat the lower portion of each wall panel, the latch mechanism being engageable with the lower frame releasably to hold the wall panel against pivotal movement outwardly from the lower frame.

It is anothero'bject of the present invention to provide such-a cabinet structure wherein such frames are generally rectangulan each of the frames comprising front,

rear and side structural members and means for connect- 3,404,931 Patented Oct. 8, 1968 ing the members so that, at each corner of the frame, the adjacent ends of the members define a receptacle for one of the corner posts. Means are provided for clamping each end of each post in one of the receptacles.

'Still another object is to provide such a cabinet'structure wherein each of such structural members has a flange at each end which is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the member, wherein each end of each corner post is provided with a pair of longitudinally extending, mutually perpendicular mounting flanges, each mounting flange being parallel to and abutting one of the end flanges of the structural members. Preferably, each of the clamping means comprises at least one element penetrating each mounting flange and its abutting end flange and means for placing the element in tension, this last-mentioned means being engageable with the abutting mounting flange and end flange. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the element penetrat ing the abutting mounting flange and end flange is a bolt extending through aligned holes in the flanges, the holes having a diameter sufficient to prevent substantial perimetral engagement of the bolt by the abutting flanges, thereby preventing shear forces from being exerted on the bolt when the cabinet structure is racked, the bolt being substantially perpendicular to the abutting flanges.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide such a cabinet structure wherein the structural members are inwardly opening channel members, wherein the corner posts are inwardly opening channel members, wherein each end of each corner post is received in one of the receptacles to provide a smooth, substantially square corner, and wherein all of the clamping means are carried within the flanges of the structural members and the corner posts.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide such a cabinet structure wherein the structural members of the lower frame are connected by gusset plates fastened to the upper flanges thereof, and wherein the cabinet structure further comprises a caster mounted on the lower side of each of the gusset plates of the lower frame, the wheels of the casters extending just below the bottom flanges of the structural members of the lower frame.

It is another object of the present invention, to provide a cabinet structure which is characterized by great strength, versatility and ease with which it may be assembled.

It is another object of the present invention to provide such a cabinet structure including removable side and rear wall panels.

To the accomplish-ment of the above and related objects, the present invention may be embodied in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings, attention being called to the fact, however, that the drawings are illustrative only, and that change may be made in the specific construction illustrated and described, so long as the scope of the appended claims is not violated.

' FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a typical electronic console embodying the cabinet structure of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the frame elements of the cabinet structure of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the frame elements of FIG. 2 assembled and the removable side and rear wall panels;

FIG. 4 is an exploded, fragmentary, perspective view showing the joint between the lower end of a corner post'and the lower frame;

FIG. 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken generally along the lines 5-5 in FIG. 3 showing the shape of each corner post and the track element carried thereby;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary, sectional view showing means whereby a wall panel is disengageably connected to the top of the cabinet structure;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary, sectional view showing a latch mechanism for holding the bottom edge of a wall panel to the lower frame;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary, sectional view showing one method for supporting the cabinet structure on casters;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary, sectional view showing another method for supporting the cabinet structure on casters;

FIG. 10 is an exploded, fragmentary perspective view of a trim plate which is carried by the upper, front portion of the frame structure; and

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary horizontal section showing means for mounting a vertically adjustable platform on the cabinet structure.

Referring now to FIG. 1, it will be seen that the cabinet structure of the present invention, indicated generally by the reference number 10, is used to contain a plurality of internally carried drawers 12 and to support an outside vertically adjustable platform, indicated generally by the reference number 14. The drawers 12 may contain any type of equipment, such as electronic or electrical control equipment. The platform 14 is vertically adjustable in the direction of the arrow 16 and horizontally adjustable in the direction of the arrow 18. A preferred structure for the adjustable platform 14 will be discussed farther along in this description.

The cabinet structure 10 comprises a frame assembly, shown in FIG. 2, which includes an upper frame 20, lower frame 22 and four corner posts 24, 26, 28 and 30. In a preferred embodiment of the cabinet structure 10, each corner post 24 through 30 carries a vertical track element 32 which serves to stiffen the corner post on which it is mounted. As seen in FIG. 1, the front track elements 32 support the adjustable platform 14 for movement in the direction of the arrow 16. Preferably, each track element 32 is fastened to one of the corner posts 24,26, 28 and 30 by means of screws, not shown, which penetrate holes indicated by the reference number 33 in FIG. 2.

The combined cross section of the corner post 24, 26, 28 and 30 and the track elements 32 carried on each of said corner posts is shown in FIG. 5. As seen in FIG. 5, each corner post 24, 26, 28 and 30 is provided with a longitudinally extending stiffening member 34 which is formed to have a hat-section. Each stiffening member 34 is welded or otherwise securely fastened to the web section 35 of the post 24 through 30 on which the stiffening member is carried. It will be seen, therefore, that the upper and lower frames 20 and 22 are connected by corner posts 24 through 30 which are extremely rigid, especially when a track element 32 is mounted on each corner post.

The upper frame 20 is preferably identical to the lower frame 22. Thus, a description of either frame 20 or 22 will suffice as a description for both. It will be noted, however, that in FIG. 2, the frame 22 is inverted as compared to the frame 20.

The frame 22 comprises front, back and side structural members 36, 38, 40 and 42, respectively. Each of the structural members 36-42 is provided with an end flange 44 at each of its ends, the end flanges 44 being substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the structural member. (See FIGS. 2 and 4.)

The frame 22 further comprises four gusset plates 46 which rigidly connect the front, back and side structural members 36, 38, 40 and 42 as shown in FIG. 2. The gusset plates 46 are so proportioned and arranged that the structural members 36-42 connected thereby are held in a substantially rectangular relationship with the end flanges 44 of adjacent structural members being held mutually perpendicular to provide a receptacle for receiving one of the corner posts 24-30 as seen in FIG. 4.

The gusset plates 46 may be welded or otherwise securely fastened to the structural members 36-42.

Since the corner posts 2430 are identical and since the upper frame and lower frame 22 are identical, 9. description of the corner post 24 and the connection between the corner post 24 and the structural members 36 and of the lower frame 22 will sufliciently describe all the corner posts 24, 26, 28 and 30 and the connections between each corner post and the upper frame 20 and lower frame 22.

Referring to FIG. 4, it will be seen that the corner post 24 is provided with a pair of longitudinally extending, mutually perpendicular mounting flanges 48 and 50, the flange 48 being arranged to abut the end flange 44 of the structural member 40 and the mounting flange 50 being arranged to abut the end flange 44 of the structural member 36. The mounting flange 50 is preferably an L-shaped bracket welded or otherwise securely fastened to the post 24 to be at a right angle to the flange 48. Of course, similar mounting flanges 48 and 50 are provided at the upper end of the corner post 24. The end flange 44 of the structural member 40 is provided with a pair of holes 52 which is aligned with a similar pair of holes 54 in the mounting flange 48 and the end flange 44 of the structural member 36 is provided with a pair of holes 56 which is aligned with a similar pair of holes 58 in the mounting flange 50. Screws 60 and nuts 62 are provided for securely clamping the mounting flange 48 to the end flange 44 of the structural member 40, the screws 60 penetrating the holes 52 and 54. Additional screws 60 and nuts 62 are provided for securely clamping the mounting flange 50 to the end flange 44 of the structural member 36, the screws 60 penetrating the holes 56 and 58.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the holes 52, 54, 56 and 58 are significantly greater in diameter than the screws 60. Thus, the screws 60 are easily inserted through the holes 52, 54, 56 and 58 and, more importantly, the screws 60 are not substantially perimetrally engaged by the edges of the holes through which the screws 60 penetrate. The last-mentioned feature prevents a screw 60 from being loaded in shear when the cabinet structure 10 is racked. That is, if the upper end of the corner post 24 is urged in the direction of the arrow 64 (FIG. 4), the screws 60 penetrating the end flange 44 of the structural member 36 and the mounting flange 50 will act in tension to resist the movement of the post 24 and the screws 60 penetrating the end flange 44 of the structural member 40 and the mounting flange 48 will, therefore, not be subjected to shear forces.

The structural members 36, 38, 40 and 42 are inwardly-opening channel members and the corner posts 24, 26, 28 and 30 are also inwardly-opening channel members. It will be seen, therefore, that all the screws 60 and nuts 62 are carried within the upper and lower flanges of the structural members 36-42 and the lateral flanges of the corner posts 24-30. It will also be seen that, when the corner post 24 is received between the ends of the structural members 36 and 40, the resulting corner structure is substantially square and smooth.

The frame assembly shown in FIG. 2 further comprises a horizontal track member 66 which is carried at the upper front portion of the cabinet structure 10. The track member 66 will be described further as this description progresses.

When the upper and lower frames 20 and 22, corner posts 24, 26, 28 and 30 and vertical track elements 32 are correctly assembled, the resulting frame assembly, which is shown in FIG. 3, will be quite rigid. Referring to FIG. 3, it will be seen that a top 68 having ventilation louvers 70 and an up-turned flange 72 extending along each of its four edges is mounted on the upper frame 20 by means of four screws indicated by the reference number 74, the screws 74 penetrating the upper frame 20. The top 68 may be considered a part of the upper frame 20 after it is assembled.

As clearly seen in FIG. 3, the cabinet structure comprises removable side wall panels 76 and 78 and a removable rear wall panel 80, all indicated generally by their respective reference numbers in FIG. 3. Each of the removable wall panels 76, 78 and 80 is provided, at its upper end, with a hook-shaped member 82 which disengageably connects the wall panel to the upper portion of the cabinet structure 10 so that the wall panel hangs vertically downwardly therefrom. Referring to FIG. 6, it will be seen that the hook-shaped member 82 on the wall panel 78 receivably engages the up-turned flange 72 of the top 68 to support the wall panel 78. Thus, the wall panel 78 may be pivoted about the flange 72 in the direction of the arrow 84 and then lifted in the direction of the arrow 86 to disengage the member 82 from the up-turned flange 72. Each of the wall panels 76, 78 and 80 is provided, at its lower end, with a latch mechanism 88, such as the latch mechanism shown in detail in FIG. 7, which secures the lower end of the wall panel to the lower frame 22;

Referring to FIG. 7, it will be seen that the illustrative latch mechanism 88 comprises a member 90 mounted on the wall section 78 for sliding movement in the direction of the arrow 92, the lower portion 94 of the member 90 being receiv-ably engaged by a. slot 96 in the lower frame 22. The upper portion 98 of the member 90 is turned outwardly and downwardly as shown in FIG. 7 to provide a hand gripping means for lifting the lower portion 94 of the member 90 out of engagement with the slot 96. The member 90 is slidably mounted on the wall panel 78 by means of a screw 100 and nut 102, the screw 100 being slidably received in a vertically extending slot 104 in the member 90.

Each of the wall panels 76, 78 and 80 includes a center wall section 106 and a pair of outer wall sections 108 as shown in FIG. 3. The upper ends of the wall sections 106 and 108 of each wall panel 76, 78 and 80 are rigidly fastened to the lower edge of the hook-shaped member 82 carried at the top of the wall panel. Specifically, each inner wall section 106 is riveted to a hook-shaped member 82, as indicated by the reference number 110 in-FIG. 6, and its mating outer wall sections 108 are riveted to the member 82, as indicated by the reference number 112 in FIG. 6. Each of the wall panels 76, 78 and 80 is provided, at its lower end, with a transverse member 114, to which its inner wall section 106 and outer wall sections 108 are rigidly fastened. Referring to the illustrative structure of FIG. 7, it will be seen that the inner wall section 106 is riveted to the transverse member 114 as indicated at 116 and its mating outer wall sections 108 are riveted to the transverse member as indicated at 118. The rivet-type connections 110, 112, 116 and 118 are well known and, therefore, do not need to be discussed, in detail, in this description.

To further strengthen the wall panels 76, 78 and 80, straps, such as those indicated by the reference number 120 in FIG. 3,'are provided on each wall panel to secure its inner wall section 106 to its outer wall sections 108.

As further seen in FIG. 3, the side wall sections 76 and 78 are provided with louvers 122 at their upper ends. The louvers 70 and 122 provide for ventilation of the electronic equipment and the like stored in the cabinet structure.

In some cases, it may be desirable to support the cabinet structure 10 on casters as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. In the embodiment of FIG. 8, the caster, indicated generally by the reference number 124, is mounted on the underneath side of the gusset plate 46 which is mounted on the lower, horizontal flanges of the structural members 36 and 40. The caster 124 may be mounted to the gusset plate 46 by means such as the screws 126 and nuts 128. It will be seen that the embodiment of FIG. 9 is the same as the embodiment of FIG. 8 except that the gusset plate 46 is fastened to the upper, horizontal flanges of the structural members 36 and 40. In other words, in the embodiment of FIG. 9,

the lower frame 22 is inverted from its position shown in FIGS. 2 and 8 and, consequently, in the embodiment of FIG. 9, the cabinet structure 10 is movably carried closer to the floor level, indicated by the reference number 130.

The horizontal track element 66, shown in FIGS. 2 and 10, is provided with upper and lower, horizontally extending grooves 132 which are arranged slidably to receive identification plates (not shown) and the like at the upper front portion of the cabinet structure 10. The upper portion 134 of the track element 66 is proportioned and arranged to hook over the up-turne'd flange 72 which extends along the front of the top 68. The back side of the track element 66 is provided with a longitudinally extending T-slot 136 which slidably receives screws 138 which extend through holes 140 (FIG. 2) in the upper frame 20. In the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 10, each of the screws 138, which is held in its hole 140 by a nut 142, is provided with a head 144 having a spring-like appendage 146 which frictionally engages the T-slot 136 to hold the screw 138 in a desired position within the T-slot 136. The head 144 is elongated in the direction of the T-slot 136 so that, when the head is moved into the T-slot and the appendage 146 is sprung back in the direction of the arrow 148, the upper edge 150 of the head 144 is urged against the top of the T-slot 136 and the lower edge 152 of the head 144 is urged against the bottom of the T-slot 136.

Referring now to FIG. 11, it will be seen that the vertically adjustable platform 14 is mounted on a pair of brackets 154 and 156 for sliding movement in the direction of the arrow 18. The brackets 154 and 156 are supported for vertical movement in the track elements 32 carried by the corner posts 24 and 30, respectively. As seen in FIG. 11, a headed bolt 158 and a slide member 160 are arranged for vertical movement in each track element 32. A nut 162 is threadedly engaged with each bolt 158 so that when the nut is tightened on the bolt the slide member 160 is wedged into the track element 32 and, therefore, will not slide along the track element. As further seen in FIG. 11, one of the bolts 158 penetrates the rear flange 164 of the bracket 154 and another of the bolts 158 penetrates the flange 166 of the bracket 156. Thus, by loosening the nuts 162, the brackets 154 and 156 may be raised and lowered.

The platform 14 is provided with a track element 168, similar to the track elements 32, on each side thereof. A pair of headed bolts and sliding members, similar to the headed bolts 158 and sliding members 160, are carried in each track element 168 and nuts 170, similar to the nuts 162, are threadedly engaged with the bolts. Thus, by loosening the nuts 170, the platform 14 may be moved in the direction of the arrow 18.

What is claimed is:

1. A cabinet structure comprising a pair of horizontally disposed, generally rectangular frames, one frame being congruently disposed above the other, said one frame being spaced a vertical distance above the other, four corner posts connected to and between said frames and supporting said one frame, removable side and rear wall panels, hook means for disengageably connecting each of said Wall panels to said one frame to hang vertically downwardly therefrom, each of said wall panels being provided, at its lower end, with a latch mechanism, said latch mechanism being engageable with said other frame, thereby holding said wall panel against pivotal movement outwardly from said other frame.

2. A cabinet structure as in claim 1 further comprising a vertical track element carried by each of said corner posts, each of said track elements being effective to stiffen the corner post on which it is carried, and vertically adjustable platform means, the track elements carried on the front corner posts providing parallel guideways cooperatively for adjustably supporting said platform means.

3. A cabinet structure comprising a frame assembly comprising identical upper and lower, generally rectangular, horizontally disposed frames, said upper frame being superposed above said lower frame, four identical, vertically standing corner posts for connecting said upper and lower frames and supporting said upper frame, each of said frames comprising front, rear and side structural members, each of said structural members having a flange at each end which is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of said member, and gusset plates connecting said structural members so that a pair of said end flanges is provided in each corner of said frame, said pair of end flanges in each corner being held mutually perpendicular to provide a receptacle for one end of one of said corner posts, each end of each corner post being provided with a pair of longitudinally extending, mutually perpendicular mounting flanges, each mounting flange being parallel to and abutting one of said end flanges, means for clamping each mounting flange to its abutting end flange, each of said clamping means including at least one element penetrating the abutting mounting flange and end flange, and means for placing said element in tension, said last-mentioned means being engageable with said abutting mounting flange and end flange, a top for said cabinet structure, said top being mounted on said upper frame and having an up-turned flange extending alongside each of said structural members of said upper frame, removable rear and side wall panels, each of said wall panels being provided, at its upper end, with a hook-shaped element for receiving one of said flanges of said top, thereby permitting said wall panel to hang vertically downwardly from said top, each of said wall panels being provided, at its lower end, with latch means for engaging said lower frame, thereby securing the lower end of said wall panel against movement outwardly from said lower frame.

4. A cabinet structure as in claim 3 further comprising a vertical track element carried on each of said corner posts, each of said track elements acting as an additional stiffening member for the post on which it is carried, a vertically adjustable platform, said platform being supported on the track elements carried on the front corner posts.

5. A cabinet structure as in claim 3 wherein said element penetrating said abutting mounting flange and end flange in a bolt extending through aligned holes in said flanges, said holes having a diameter suflicient to prevent substantial perimetral engagement of said bolt by said abutting flanges, thereby preventing shear forces from being exerted on said bolt when cabinet structure is racked, said bolt being substantially perpendicular to said abutting flanges.

6. A cabinet structure as in claim 5 wherein said structural members are inwardly opening channel members, wherein said corner posts are inwardly opening channel members, wherein each end of said corner posts is received in one of said receptacles to provide a smooth, substantially square corner, wherein all of said clamping means are carried within the flanges of said structural members and said corner posts.

7. A cabinet structure as in claim 6 wherein said gusset plates of said lower frame are connected to the upper flanges of said structural members, and wherein sa d cabinet structure further comprises casters, one of said casters being mounted on the underneath side ofeach of said gusset plates of said lower frame, the wheels of said casters extending just slightly below the 7 bottom flanges of said structural members.

8. A cabinet structure including a frame structure comprising a pair of horizontally disposed polygonal frames, one frame being congruently disposed above the other, said one frame being spaced a vertical distance above the other, and a corner post connected to and between each of the vertically aligned pairs of corners of said frames, said corner posts being arranged rigidly to support said one frame above said other frame, removable wall panels, means for pivotally and disengageably connecting each of said wall panels to one side of said one frame to suspend said wall panels, and each of said wall panels being provided with a latch mechanism, said latching mechanism being engageable with said frame structure thereby releasably to hold said wall panel against pivotal movement outwardly therefrom.

9. A cabinet structure as in claim 8 wherein said frames are generally rectangular, each of said frames comprising front, rear and side structural members and means for connecting said members so that, at each corner of sa d frame, the adjacent ends of said members define a receptacle for one of said corner posts, and means for clamping each end of each corner post in one of said receptacles.

10. A cabinet structure as in claim 9 wherein each of said members has a flange at each end which is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of said member, wherein each end of each corner post is provided with a pair of longitudinally extending, mutually perpendicular mounting flanges, each mounting flange being parallel to and abutting one of said end flanges, and wherein each clamping means comprises at least one element penetrating each mounting flange and its abutting end flange and means for placing said element in tension, said last-mentioned means being engageable with said abutting mounting flange and end flange.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,268,509 6/1918 Stone 312263 2,058,263 10/1936 Rosendale 312-257 2,244,432 6/1941 Schwab 49465 X 2,920,781 1/1960 Butcher et al 49463 X 3,143,981 8/1964 Tassell 248243 X JAMES T. MCCALL, Primary Examiner. 

